


Route 66

by noelleleithe



Series: Route 66 [1]
Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-04
Updated: 2013-01-04
Packaged: 2017-11-23 13:50:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/622871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noelleleithe/pseuds/noelleleithe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The words hung in the air between them as their gazes locked, and Luke felt his heart speed up in his chest at the look in Noah's eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Route 66

He would absolutely _not_ be calling home for help.

Or Triple-A, for that matter. The account was in his parents' name, and they'd find out about this, and he'd never hear the end of it. It took him a solid two weeks of cajoling to get them to agree to this little adventure, and if they knew what had happened, they wouldn't let him out of the house again until after graduation, much less out of town.

Luke sighed, hands on hips, staring at the incomprehensible collection of gears and components under the hood of his car. He knew where the dipstick was (plenty of oil), and he knew how to add coolant (plenty of that, too), but there ended his mechanical knowledge. He had no idea why his car had simply quit running in the middle of Bumfuck Nowhere, Missouri, and wouldn't restart. Nothing happened at all when he tried to crank it.

Spending his senior year spring break driving along the classic Route 66 in his Mustang convertible seemed like the perfect plan. Luke had needed desperately to get away from Oakdale, away from prying eyes and questioning looks. Being the town's Token Gay got really old, really fast. He wanted some time to clear his head before diving back in to finish his senior year and then tackle a summer internship and college. His mom had always been overprotective, so he'd gotten his dad on board first and let him help convince her.

And now here he was, midmorning on day two, and his car was dead on the side of a two-lane road, miles from anything resembling civilization.

"Looks like I'm walking," he mumbled.

He slammed the hood with a little more force than necessary and crossed back to the driver's side door, reaching in to grab his sunglasses and iPod, and after a second, the half-gone bottle of Gatorade he'd been drinking. Locking everything up, he turned and headed back the way he'd just come. He wasn't sure exactly how far he'd driven since Waynesville, but he'd barely gotten back up to road speed before the car started acting up, so it couldn't be too far. And he'd seen what looked like a car repair shop just as he was leaving the fringes of the small town.

"I just hope they're open," he said to no one as he slipped the earbuds in and set his favorites playlist to random. Sunday morning was church time in the rural Midwest, and not too many businesses bothered to open up when no one would be around. He'd seen someone walking past the front of this one, though, so even if they were closed, maybe that someone would still be around and willing to help, at least.

In the meantime, he had a hot walk ahead of him. The temperature was maybe in the middle 70s, but the sun was high and bright, and the air was still, no breeze to cut through the warmth. The road sat empty as far as Luke could see in both directions; no other cars had passed since he left Waynesville. He trudged ahead, the ground on the shoulder of the road soft under his feet.

He zoned out to the music and had no idea how far he'd walked when the building he hoped like hell was his goal came into sight. The steel structure had at least a dozen cars sitting to the side of it, a few of them looking worse for the wear, so things looked good for his guess that it was a repair shop. He sped up a little, feeling sweat rolling down the center of his back, wiping more away from his face. He would probably have a nice sunburn before this trek ended.

As he got closer, he could see someone moving around the end of what looked like a truck that had been backed into one of the service bays. "Thank God," he said. Someone was working after all.

He was even with the building and about to turn in to cross the several yards of gravel space in front of it when he paused and looked closer. The man inside had bent over to fiddle with a tire, and Luke had an amazing view of him. Long and lean, wearing snug jeans and a t-shirt that rode up across his back, exposing a good four inches of smooth skin. The hand gripping the side of the truck was streaked with grease, but the fingers were long and almost graceful, somehow. They didn't look like the hands of a hardened mechanic.

Giving himself a mental shake, Luke headed toward the building, his sneakers digging into the gravel as he walked. The man heard him approaching, and his head snapped up, turning in Luke's direction. Luke almost stumbled. Dark hair, just overgrown enough to start curling around his ears, full lips, and possibly the bluest eyes Luke had ever seen on a human being in person.

Luke took a breath and tried to smile. "Hey," he said, stopping a few feet away. "Sorry to barge in on you like this, but my car broke down a few miles outside of town, and this looks like the place to go to get some help?"

The man stared at him for a moment longer before straightening up and offering a half-smile. "Um, well, not sure how much good I'd be," he said. "I'm pretty new at this myself. But I can take a look if you want, and if I can't do anything with it, I can call my boss."

Luke smiled wide, relief washing over him. "That'd be awesome," he said. "After all the trouble I went through to take this trip, this was the last thing I needed."

The guy gave a more genuine smile and tilted his head back toward the building. "Come on into the office while I get some things together," he said. "Like I said, I'm no expert, but I'll grab stuff I know I can work with."

Luke nodded and followed the guy into the bay and through a side door into a small room with a wide desk cluttered with papers on one side and a few chairs clustered in front of an ancient TV on the other. A coffee pot and some basic supplies sat on a small table between the two areas, and an air conditioner blasted cold air into the room from the window on the side wall.

"Have a seat and cool off," the guy said, waving toward the chairs. "Shouldn't take me more than a few minutes."

"Thanks." Luke shot him another quick smile and tried not to stare as the guy stepped back out into the garage. Luke drained the last of his Gatorade and looked around for a trash can, but instead he saw a water fountain in the corner. Crossing over, he rinsed out the bottle and refilled it, pausing to test the water and finding it cool and clear tasting. He drank about a third of it down and was topping it off again when the guy came back into the office, dragging a worn cloth across the back of his neck to wipe away a layer of sweat.

"Ready when you are," he said, dropping the cloth on the table by the door, and Luke smiled. He seemed to be doing that every time he looked at this guy, but then, who could blame him?

"Ready," he said, walking back toward him. If he hadn't been staring at the guy anyway, he might not have noticed the way those eyes skimmed quickly down his body and back up, or the way he shifted on his feet as if something had made him uncomfortable. Like maybe his pants got a little tighter. Luke's certainly had.

He tried to ignore it. He was almost eighteen years old and stuffed to the gills with hormones, plus he was a virgin. He had a tendency to take any kind of friendliness as more than it meant, and look where that got him with Kevin.

The guy held the door for Luke, which drew another smile out of him, and then, to his surprise, opened the door to the truck and held that, too. Luke smiled a little more uncertainly this time as he climbed in. Suddenly this was feeling like a date or something, and he didn't quite know how to handle that thought.

The door closed behind him, and Luke took a couple of deep breaths, trying not to stare at the guy as he crossed in front of the truck to his side. He climbed in and reached for the keys, the engine sputtering a bit before catching. He threw Luke a smile.

"Starter's acting up," he said. "That was next on my list to work on today. Don't worry, though, it's not going to leave us stranded out there."

Luke bit back the first thing that sprang to mind, which was that he might not mind that at all. He just nodded, searching for something else to say. "Oh hey," he finally managed. "I'm Luke, by the way. Nice to meet you ...?"

"Noah." Noah smiled at him, showing sharp canines. "I'd shake your hand, but mine is kind of greasy at the moment."

He wiggled the fingers on his right hand, and Luke laughed as Noah pulled out of the garage. "Well, I'm covered in sweat from that walk, so I guess we're pretty even," he said. "And I guess you could probably figure it out, but head right. West. I have no idea how far it is. I just walked until I got somewhere."

Noah checked for traffic carefully (even though Luke still had yet to see another car on the road) and pulled out of the lot, headed west out of town. He settled back, hands neatly on opposite sides of the wheel, eyes on the road ahead. Luke watched him out of the corner of his eye. Noah sat up straight and tall in the seat, but his shoulders were relaxed, and one thumb tapped lightly on the steering wheel. Luke thought about what to say and finally decided generic small talk was the better part of valor.

"So you live in Waynesville?"

One corner of Noah's mouth turned up. "Over at Fort Leonard Wood, actually," he said. "My dad's an Army colonel." He paused a moment, biting his lip, and Luke had to swallow down the excess saliva that little gesture brought up. "The job was actually his idea," Noah finally went on. "Thought it'd be good for me to learn some basic mechanics."

"Is that what you want to do?" Luke was genuinely curious. Not that mechanics were easily stereotyped, but Noah just didn't seem to fit the profession somehow. He quickly proved Luke right.

"No way," Noah said, shaking his head once. "I want to do film. Directing. But Dad wants me to enlist. It's ..." He stopped. "You really don't want to hear about my problems."

Luke turned in his seat, the shoulder belt cutting into his chest, but he ignored it. "No, I do," he said. "It's ... well, this is going to sound pretty selfish, but I spent all day yesterday alone and most of this morning, and it's kinda nice just to talk to someone for a change. I mean, other than restaurant servers and hotel desk staffers."

Noah shot him a quick glance and returned his gaze to the road before giving a quick nod. "It's been a fight between us for a couple of years," he said softly. "I want to go to Northwestern and study film. He wants me to enlist. I gave in on the mechanic job because it would help me keep my truck running and give me enough money to buy the video camera I've been wanting." He grinned then. "Three more paychecks and it'll be mine."

This was pretty far out of Luke's experience, and he found himself caught off guard. Noah had to work to be able to have something to drive and to get the camera he wanted, while all Luke had to do was be who he was, in the family he was born into, and whatever he wanted pretty much fell into his lap.

Like the fire-engine-red convertible that was just coming into view. Pushing aside his thoughts, since he really couldn't do anything about them, Luke pointed. "There I am," he said. He laughed a little nervously. "You'd think something like that would hold up a little longer. I've had it less than two years."

Noah shot him another glance as he slowed down, preparing to pull off and, Luke guessed, make a U-turn to park near Luke's car. "You're in college?"

Luke laughed again. "Not yet," he said. "Senior year. Spring break. I'll be eighteen in May. But thanks for not thinking I was even younger than I am."

Noah chuckled too as he gingerly turned the truck around and pulled into the grass just in front of the Mustang. "Younger than me," he said. "I was eighteen last fall. Senior too."

Luke grinned. "I figured you were older than that when I first saw you," he said. "Guess we both look particularly <i> _mature_ </i>." He emphasized the word teasingly, but Noah's reply surprised him.

"Well," Noah said, shutting off the engine and reaching for the door. "It wasn't your maturity I was looking at."

He was gone before Luke could reply, not that he could think of anything to say to that. It was a pretty clear indication of what was going on inside Noah's head (and other body parts), which seemed to be a lot like what was going on inside Luke's.

Luke climbed out of the truck slowly, walking back toward his car, glancing over at Noah as he passed. Noah had his attention on the tools in the bed of his truck, so Luke went on to his car, opening the door and reaching in to pop the hood. He felt as if he were operating on autopilot, his mind whirling.

Luke had never had a boyfriend, never had so much as a real kiss. He was as untouched as it got, his own hands his only companions in the years since he first figured out what his dick was for. Faking a relationship with his cousin and crushing on his painfully straight best friend had gotten him exactly nowhere.

And now he was on the side of the road on a beautiful spring day, alone with a beautiful man, and it was all he could do to keep himself from ripping the toolbox out of Noah's hand and pulling him into the bed of his pickup instead.

Taking a couple of deep breaths and pushing down the surge of testosterone, Luke crossed back to the front of the car, where Noah was just starting to take a look around under the hood. "I already checked the oil and the coolant," Luke said. "But that and changing a tire is about it for me."

Noah grinned at him quickly. "Want to give starting it a try?" he said. "That might give us some clues."

Luke nodded and headed back to the door, climbing in and inserting the key. He couldn't see Noah from this vantage point, but he ducked his head just enough to get a glimpse of a slice of torso in the gap between car and hood. He turned the key and got only a clicking sound.

"Okay, that's good, you can turn it back off!" Luke did. "Try the headlights!" Noah called, and Luke complied. "Hrm." Luke leaned out the door as Noah stepped around the side. "No headlights," Noah confirmed, leaning one hip against the car, wiping the grease from his right hand with a rag that looked like a piece of an old t-shirt. Luke tried not to stare as the t-shirt Noah wore pulled tight over muscle. "So it's probably battery or alternator. Since it died while you were driving, I'm betting alternator. It could be a bad battery cable, too, but they look okay to me."

Luke sighed and slumped back against the seat. "So what's the fix?"

"Let's try jumping it first," Noah said. Luke smacked down his mind's reaction to the idea of jumping anything around Noah. "I've got a battery pack in the truck. If that doesn't work, we'll need to head back and call my boss. Unfortunately, alternators are a little above my pay grade at this point."

Luke nodded. "Need any help?"

Noah grinned. "I got it," he said, pushing off the car. "Sit tight and I'll tell you when to try cranking it again."

Luke nodded and Noah disappeared around the front end of the car again. Luke sighed, torn between hoping that the fix would be as simple as a jump so he could get back on his way and that it would be a bigger repair so he'd be able to spend more time with Noah. Because man, was he ever gorgeous, and unless Luke was completely misreading him, it sure seemed like he might be interested in Luke, too.

A noise at the front of the car drew Luke's attention, and he ducked down again far enough to see Noah attaching leads to the battery. Luke waited, and a minute or so later Noah called out, "Okay, try it again!" Luke turned it over. Nothing happened. "Off, wait about a minute, and then try it." Luke followed orders, and this time he got a weak response, a cranking sound. "One more time!" One more time, and nothing better, probably not even as good as the last one.

"Okay, that's good." Luke sat back as Noah walked around the side again. "I don't think the battery's gonna take a jump," he said. "If we get it back to the shop, it might charge there, and we can test the alternator. I can call for a tow and get my boss in to check it out."

Luke shrugged, pulling the keys out and climbing from the car. "Guess we don't have a lot of choice," he said, shutting the door behind him and, rashly, stepping up to within a foot of Noah. "It's either that or sit here by the side of the road all day long. Alone. Together."

The words hung in the air between them as their gazes locked, and Luke felt his heart speed up in his chest at the look in Noah's eyes. "Well," Noah said slowly, his voice several octaves lower than it had been just moments before. "There are worse ways to spend a Sunday."

Luke watched, fascinated, as Noah's head moved toward his. He felt his eyelids droop as Noah's breath brushed his mouth and the tip of Noah's nose touched his cheek. He paused there, an inch away, and Luke couldn't stand it another moment. "God," Luke whispered. "Would you just kiss--"

He didn't get any further. Noah kissed him, deep and hard and perfect, and Luke whimpered as his hands fell onto Noah's chest, fingers clutching at the soft fabric of his t-shirt, damp with Noah's sweat. Noah's hands were in Luke's hair, holding him close as he kissed him like it was his only chance. Maybe it was. Luke didn't care. He didn't know what this was or where it came from, but he was going to follow it wherever it took him.

Noah was stepping back now, and Luke almost whined in protest before he realized Noah was tugging him along. "Truck," Noah rasped out. "Inside ... want to touch you."

Luke nodded quickly, words escaping him for once, and let Noah pull him around to the passenger side. Noah climbed in first and then turned back to Luke, holding out a hand and giving him a tentative smile. Luke smiled back and took Noah's hand, heedless of the grease still streaked there, following him into the cocoon of the cab and its wide bench seat.

Noah was on him again almost before he could get the door closed behind him, kissing him breathless, and Luke gave back as good as he was getting. He felt like he was living out some Penthouse fantasy, the hot mechanic having his wicked way with him on a stretch of deserted highway. He didn't care. This was real, Noah was real, and he felt so good against him, long and hard and perfect.

Noah's hand was under his shirt now, and Luke hurried to copy him, both pushing at cloth, struggling a little as they fought not to stop kissing until they absolutely had to. Their shirts hit the floor in tandem as they dove back into each other's mouths, tongues exploring, stroking deep, tangling together.

Noah drew back suddenly, lips sliding along Luke's jawline to his ear. "I've never ..." he trailed off, and Luke turned his head to kiss him once more, hard and fast.

"I've never either," he said. "Whatever you want. I just want you to touch me."

Noah nodded and dropped his head to suck at the curve where Luke's neck and shoulder met, and Luke let his head fall back against the seat with a groan. "Oh God," he said, as Noah brought one hand up to brush over a nipple. "Fuck. So good."

He felt Noah smile against his chest. "You taste good," he murmured, lips sliding through Luke's chest hair. "Like salt and sweat and man."

Luke's hands were in Noah's hair then, directing him toward Luke's other nipple. "More," he whispered, and Noah obliged, sucking at the hard point, biting down gently, drawing more groans from Luke, who felt like he was going up in flames, and not from the heat of the midday sun.

Luke yanked one hand out of Noah's hair and slid it down Noah's shoulder, across his chest, and finally to the button on his jeans. "Off," Luke rasped out. "Want to see you. All of you."

Noah shuddered against him as Luke let his fingers brush over the hard rock under the denim. His head lifted and he caught Luke's eyes. "I will if you will," he said, and they grinned at each other.

Separating, they each got their shoes and jeans off and gone as fast as they could. Noah wore tighty-whiteys, which Luke never thought he would've found sexy until right that moment, but somehow they seemed to work for him. Luke's own boxer-briefs were grey, and he was kind of glad he didn't have on black ones. That seemed like a little too much for this, for some reason.

Noah's arms were back around Luke now, laying him down across the seat, and Luke went willingly, bringing his legs up on either side of Noah's body, wrapping one leg around his waist. The movement ground their crotches together, and both of them moaned into the kiss. Noah drew back from the kiss. "Fuck," he said as their hips moved in tandem. "Don't know how long I'm gonna last like this."

"Yeah." Luke slid his hands under the back of Noah's underwear to squeeze his ass, a little surprised at his behavior but not about to stop. "Don't wanna mess these up. Maybe we should take them off."

Noah groaned and kissed him again, mouth opening wide, tongue stroking along the insides of Luke's cheeks. Luke kissed back just as urgently but kept pushing at Noah's underwear until he finally broke away and helped, getting them to naked skin and pulling Luke up, almost into Noah's lap. Luke took another chance and reached out, for the first time wrapping his fingers around a cock that wasn't his own.

Noah groaned loudly, his forehead dropping to rest against Luke's and his hips jerking forward, into Luke's hand. Luke kept his grip loose enough to keep this from being over any faster than he already knew it would be but tight enough to keep from teasing, he hoped. Not like he had a lot of experience with anyone other than himself. Not like he had _any_.

And then Noah's hand was on Luke's cock and his brain just shut down. Completely. He was surprised he kept breathing and his heart kept beating. Holy _shit_. Just that one little touch and he was about to explode right out of his skin.

"Fuck." Noah's raspy voice nearly did Luke in right there. "Fuck."

Luke tilted his head up to capture Noah's lips again, kissing him hard, pushing him back against the seat. They fumbled for a few seconds to find a position that worked before settling in with Luke straddling Noah's lap, Noah's free hand on his bare ass, Luke's free arm wrapped around Noah's shoulder. Their skin slid together deliciously, just enough sweat so they could move easily but still allow for some friction.

Noah's cock was hot and heavy in Luke's hand, skin like satin with thick, solid hardness underneath. A fleeting thought ran through Luke's mind, how it would feel to take that length inside him, and he moaned into Noah's mouth, shuddering. Noah shuddered in response, his hand tightening on Luke's dick, and just like that Luke was coming, Noah's tongue in his mouth, those graceful fingers working him through it, pulling out everything he had to give.

He came back to himself to find Noah smiling down at him, blue a thin rim around the black of his pupils. "That was awesome," he said. "So hot."

Luke felt himself start to blush. To hide it, he moved quickly to the seat beside Noah and bent down to suck Noah's cock into his mouth.

Noah let out a shout of surprise, and Luke heard his head hit the back of the seat. He smiled and licked his way up the shaft, wetting Noah's skin all over before wrapping one hand around the base and starting to suck in earnest. He knew how to do this, in theory, anyway. He just hoped he was getting it right, lips wrapped over his teeth, tongue cupping around the head, _suck-relax-suck-relax_ , gradually making the pressure harder and longer, until--

Noah's hands grabbed at his head and he tried to pull Luke off, tried to warn him, but no way was Luke about to miss out on finishing his first blowjob. He dipped his head down as far as he could manage without choking and sucked hard until Noah jerked and shouted above him and warm, salty semen filled his mouth. He swallowed as fast as he could manage as he backed off to let the rest spill out, licking at Noah's skin to clean up the remaining drops. Noah shivered and moaned, his body limp, arms resting on the seat on either side of him.

When Luke sat back, wiping the last traces of Noah's come off his lips, he had to smile. Noah looked like he was down for the count, breathing deeply, eyes closed. He started to shift around to find their underwear, mindful that they were out in the open, even on a mostly deserted highway, but the moment he turned and bent over, hands fell onto his hips and he was pulled back into Noah's lap.

"Not trying to get away, are you?" Noah's voice was pure sex, and Luke felt his cock give a valiant effort at reviving.

"Not on your life," Luke replied, leaning up to give Noah a soft, lingering kiss before pulling back an inch. "Just thought maybe we should cover up in case someone else comes along. And maybe ..." He hesitated for a moment. "Maybe we can take care of my car and then go somewhere a little more private?"

Noah stilled, then slowly lifted his arm to look at the watch he still wore. "Shit," he murmured. "I have to be home in less than an hour or the Colonel will be on the warpath." He dropped his arm as if it weighed two tons but ran his other hand into Luke's hair, bringing him in for another amazing kiss. When he drew away, he rested his forehead against Luke's like he'd done earlier.

"I would like nothing more than to go somewhere private with you," he whispered. "But I can't. I have to ... I wish ..."

Luke cut him off with a kiss. "It's okay," he murmured against Noah's lips. "This was amazing and awesome and totally hot, and I wish too, but if this is what we get, then this is what we get." He smiled. "Maybe we'll get another chance, um ... somewhere down the road?"

Noah laughed and hugged him close but then pulled back to catch Luke's gaze, turning serious. "Maybe we will," he said softly. "I'd like to think so anyway."

Luke didn't think he could speak without saying something that would ruin it all, or maybe even crying, and how stupid would _that_ be? So instead he kissed Noah again, committing it to memory, making it last. He didn't know how long it would be before he might have anything like this again.

After the kiss, they got dressed quietly, carefully, and Noah drove them back to the shop, where he called his boss and the only tow service in the area that ran on weekends. Everything was completely businesslike, except that any time Luke and Noah touched, their hands would linger, and every time they looked at each other, their gazes would hold.

Luke felt like he was going to spontaneously combust by the time Noah's boss got there, barely in time for Noah to make it home before his dad would get angry. Noah flashed another smile and loped toward his truck, and Luke turned to Mr. Griner, said he wanted to thank Noah for his help, and followed him.

"Hey," Luke said, stepping into the open doorway as Noah slid into the seat. His head popped up and his gaze locked with Luke's. "Thanks for today," Luke said. "I mean, the help and the ... everything. It was amazing. _You_ were amazing. And no matter what else happens, I promise I'll never forget any of it."

Noah smiled, and hidden from prying eyes by the door, he reached down to squeeze Luke's hand. "Same here," he said, and Luke returned the smile and stepped back, watching as he drove away.

When he left Waynesville again four hours later, with a new alternator in his car and a couple hundred dollars gone from his wallet, he took a souvenir with him. While Mr. Griner's back was turned, he snagged the cloth Noah had used to wipe away his sweat earlier, slipping it into his pocket, and then into his glove compartment in the car, where he left it. Every single time he thought of it, it reminded him of blue eyes and smooth skin and shared firsts. And every single time, it made him smile.


End file.
